Back to Normal
by people-alwayz-leave
Summary: She took a deep breath and moved towards him tentatively. She already knew the least little thing could trigger it. Maybe if he could just remember- maybe then it could go back to normal. But she knew, nothing would ever be normal again. Malec
1. Back to Normal?

A/N: Bold print is Alec's POV, regular is Max's

She looked at him, her eyes clouded with something that resembled fear, but he needed this. He need her and he needed her now. She took a deep breath and moved towards him tentatively. She already knew the least little thing could trigger it. Maybe if he could just remember- maybe then it could go back to normal. But she knew, nothing would ever be normal again.

She closed her eyes and stopped in the middle of the room, not wanting him to feel cornered. "Alec?" She whispered his name but she couldn't watch him whirl around to face her. She couldn't watch him forget her again. "Max?" Her name came out a strangled whisper, and her eyes snapped open. "Alec?" Her voice came out stronger, and his name help hope in it. "Max!" He seemed genuinely happy to see her. But when he rushed towards her to take her in his arms, she couldn't help but flinch. When she did, she could have sworn that he did too. "Maxie, what's wrong?" She shook her head. "Alec…" She took another deep breath. "Nothing, Alec. Nothing's wrong." She smiled at him and then rushed into his arms, breathing in a scent that could purely be defined as Alec.

**He felt someone behind him, but he didn't know where he was, so he didn't know what to expect. There, in the middle of the room was Max with her eyes closed. She looked scared. **_**That can't be good. If Max is scared I probably got us in something deep this time. Too deep to get out of.**_** He was trying to find his voice, but for some reason, it just wasn't working. "Alec?" His name coming from her lips made him crazy. "Max?" It came out a strangled whisper, and he watched as her eyes snapped open. **_**Why does she look surprised?**_** "Alec?" Her voice was stronger, and now he knew something was wrong but right now he was too happy to care. He felt like he hadn't seen her in ages. "Max!" He rushed at her to take her in a hug, and then she flinched. And that's when he realized, the fear he was sensing off of her was for him. "Maxie, what's wrong?" She just shook her head, and he could tell she was trying to formulate the words. "Alec…" She took a deep breath and then she reopened her eyes. "nothing, Alec. Nothing's wrong." She smiled at him, but he knew it was fake. Before he could call her on it, she was in his arms, and he could smell her- Vanilla, leather, and fear.**

He held her for a while, stroking her hair. "Maxie?" She pulled back a little and looked up at his face. His handsome features were clouded in confusion. "I can't remember anything Max. I don't know what's wrong, I don't know where I am, I don't know who I am. All I can remember is you." The last part came out hesitantly and her eyes welled up with tears. She desperately wanted to tell him everything, but she had done that once before and it had only made their whole situation worse. She heaved a heavy sigh. "Maxie?" When he said her name like that, he knew she held all the answers. There was only one other way to show him. The same as she always did. It was the only way to have him close to her. But she knew as soon as he woke up, he'd just forget all over again. She looked into his eyes, silently entreating him not to question what was about to happen. She stood there, drowning for a minute and then he kissed her. That took her by surprise. He never initiated things between them, he left that up to her. After the initial shock wore off, she kissed him back with all of the love and passion she had. Because right now, he was her Alec for just a little while.

**All he could do was hold her, stroking her hair. "Maxie?" He looked down into her face, he was just so confused about all of this. "I can't remember anything Max. I don't know what's wrong, I don't know where I am, I don't know who I am. All I can remember is you." The last part came out hesitantly and her eyes welled up with tears. He could see the inner battle within herself weather or not to tell him. Instead of answering, she heaved a heavy sigh. "Maxie?" She looked up into his eyes, almost breaking his heart at how sad they were. They just stood there for a minute, and then he couldn't help himself- he kissed her. And when she kissed him back, everything made sense, the world was right again.**

She woke a few hours later, expecting him to be asleep. But there he was laying next to her, stroking her hair, just being close to her. He smiled down at her. "Morning sleepy head." She smiled back. It was something about his morning hair that only made her love him more. "Morning. You're up early." He shrugged. "I never went to sleep." She felt her face fall. He could only stay awake for so long. "Hey, what's wrong?" He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face towards him. "I don't ever want you to leave me again." She saw something flash in his eyes, but she couldn't place it. "Max," His tone was firm, but he kept his voice soft. It was his serious conversation voice. "I will _never_, I mean never leave you. I love you too much to ever leave." She felt the tears run down her cheeks.


	2. Running towards the Truth

**A/N: I don't own anything, blah, blah, blah**

**THANKS TO darkazangel452, p3karen, and Mahine for the reviews! You guys are awesome :p**

**This chapter will be formatted the same as the last chapter, Bold for Alec and regular for Max.**

**He woke up and there she was. His beautiful Max, laying next to him, sleeping soundly. He let out a contented sigh. He had slept for a few hours, he blamed her. How could he sleep when he was scared to death that she was going to leave him? He stroked her hair, and pulled her a little closer. If she was going to kick his butt he was going to make this worthwhile. Of course, last night had been perfect. But he'd gotten the feeling that it wasn't their first time. Were they in a relationship? Why couldn't he just remember it? She woke up a few hours later and he smiled down at her when their eyes met, temporarily distracted from his mind racing. "Morning sleepy head." She smiled back, but this was a bright, pleasantly surprised smile that she was sporting, and he had to admit, it looked stunning on her. "Morning. You're up early." He shrugged. Her shark DNA had obviously rubbed off on him. "I never went to sleep." He watched as her face fell, and she looked so sad again. "Hey, what's wrong?" He hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face towards him so that their eyes met. Even though the sex was amazing, he wasn't letting her distract him again right now. "I don't ever want you to leave me again." And that's when it hit him. She was talking about him not being able to remember. Had he not been able to remember her before? How could he have ever forgotten her? "Max," His tone was firm, but he kept his voice soft, letting her know they were about to have a serious conversation. "I will **_**never**_**, I mean never leave you. I love you too much to ever leave." The tears fell freely then and he wanted nothing more than to kiss them away, so he did.**

She wasn't expecting anything from him, that much they both knew. They got up and got dressed, she knew she would have to leave again soon. Terminal City needed her, but she needed Alec. She hated doing this- choosing when she had the real Alec for only a little while and Terminal City would have her for the rest of her life. She took a deep breath, he could be very persuasive when he wanted to be. "Maxie, where are we?" Max let her eyes find the floor, this is the part she hated. "You're safe here Alec." When he spoke again, his voice was laced with confusion she knew he must feel. "Max, I don't…" She growled in frustration. "Shut up okay Alec?" He looked taken back by her outburst momentarily, and then his anger hit him. _Oh God, I'm going to set him off, I'm going to lose him._ "Alec, I'm…" But she was cut off by his lips on hers again. When she woke up, she already knew he would be gone. He used her feelings against her to escape. But she hoped she knew where he was, not like last time.

**He could feel how tense she was and they were sitting across the room from each other. He could tell she was deep in thought, but he needed to have answers and if she wasn't going to answer him, well, he'd get them from somewhere. She took a deep breath, breaking his train of thought. He needed a plan, and he needed one quick. He could tell by her posture that not only were they about to fight, but she was going to leave him here alone again. Well, that just wouldn't do. "Maxie, where are we?" Her eyes found the floor. So he was here per Max? Well, that just wouldn't do at all. "You're safe here Alec." **Then why aren't you staying with me?! **His head was screaming at her, and he felt hopeless. "Max, I don't…" **Want you to leave, want to be alone, want to burden you with this anymore. **But her growling at him cut off all rational thoughts except having her again. "Alec, I'm…" He didn't want to know, nor did he care what was at the end of that sentence. She'd had her chance to explain, and now it was time to make a run for it. He fused his lips to hers again and melded their bodies together, moving her back towards the bed, his mind kicking into overdrive. He wrote a note, she would know where to find him. He picked up her hand to kiss it, and that's when he saw it. It was a simple golden wedding band there on her left hand. He felt his heart break. **Probably married that stupid ordinary, and now she's here. But why? **He knew he didn't have time to think, that he had to leave, but it was so hard to tear himself away from her. Finally, he made his way out into the night, praying she could save him from whatever eternal hell he was trapped inside.**

It took her a while to find the note, it was under his pillow. He had left a note? Maybe the real Alec was back. But before she could process that thought, guards busted in. She shot them a withering look. "A little late aren't?" The guards looked ashamed of themselves. Good, they should be. Thought Max. She wasn't ready to admit that it was more her fault he had run than theirs. She was the one who had told them to hang back, make themselves scarce while she was there. She took a deep breath. "If I didn't need you, I would kill you right now." And with that, she breezed out of the room, gone to find him. Where could he possibly be? She twisted the ring on her left hand a few times, and when she looked down at it, she got a flashback of their wedding day.

_"I Alec McDowell take you Max Gueverra to be my lawfully wedded wife." How Original Cindy had cried when the ceremony was over. And how insanely jealous Logan had been when she told him the news. She had laughed and cried and Alec had stayed with her, through it all. That day was crazy, but none the less, all of their crazy friends were there, Zack even gave her away. _

She came back out of it and into the real world. She didn't have time to reminisce. Alec was out there somewhere, and she had to find him. It was time that she told him the truth. But first, she would have to show him why she had to keep him there.


	3. On Top Of the World

**A/N: I don't own anything, blah, blah, blah**

**THANKS TO darkazangel452, p3karen, Mahine, and Dark Roswellian Angel for the reviews! You guys are awesome :p**

**And DRA- Max and Alec are married in chpater two... But he doesn't remember.**

**This chapter will be formatted the same as the last two chapters, Bold for Alec and regular for Max.**

**He slipped out of the room easily enough, but he had to admit to himself he had no clue where he was going. He took a deep breath, he was a Manticore Soldier, ex CO. He could do this. It was simple navigational skills which he should have plenty of. Of course, they were prepped before each mission. Well, this time the mission was to escape Max before she could get out of giving him the answers. He took off down a long corridor, everything was homey here. Like maybe… Maybe this was Max's home and she brought him here to be with him. He started looking around what seemed to be a common room. There were pictures of them lining the shelves and the mantle above the fireplace, and they looked happy. And then a little girl appeared in the doorway.**

She had to find him. There was no other option. First she searched the house, with no results. Then she a picture caught her eye. It was one of them on top of the Space Needle. He had taken it with his cell phone one night. She smiled at the memory, and at how happy they were. And then her mind snapped back to the mission. She blamed Manticore for creating her with a one track mind- the mission first, everything else later. And then it hit her, Alec had come through here. He would go to the Space Needle. He was waiting for her. And they were about to have the biggest confrontation of their lives with each other. She ran to the garage and fired up her Ninja, his bike sitting lonely and unused beside it. She looked longingly at it, remember times they would just ride around, racing each other, and sometimes ripping other people off. He had developed her sleeping schedule after a few months, so they would sometimes ride all night and then have to go to work, sleeping away their lunch break for Alec's sake. She smiled sadly at the bike, as if apologizing for some unknown crime that she hadn't really committed and rode off into the sunset to find her prince charming.

**He sat there , looking down at all of the normal people bustling around going about their day to day lives. They looked so small from up here. Maybe that was why Max loved it, because up here, it was like nothing could touch you, nothing could hurt you, or anyone that you loved. All of your problems slipped away up here. Maybe that's why he secretly loved it too. He sighed and checked his watch. She would be here soon. **Come on Maxie, you know me. You know where I am. **And then he felt her behind him. "Alec?" Her voice was the same as it had been yesterday morning when she came to see him. "Max." He didn't bother looking at her this time. He didn't want to see the fear in her eyes, not when that fear was directed at him. "Hey." She sounded hopeful, like maybe he had forgotten her again. He was starting to think that it had happened before. Had he hurt her and just didn't know it. "Max…" He started to tell her he almost didn't want to know about anything other than them, but she cut him off. "Promise me that you won't be mad at me. Promise me you won't hate me." He looked at her for the first time since she'd arrived. "I could never hate you Maxie." She smiled at him, but he could tell that she didn't believe him. What had happened to them?**

Max found him exactly where she thought that he would be- atop the Space Needle. "Alec?" She knew it was him, but the last time, he had forgotten her, too overcome with the memories of what had happened to them and between them. "Max." His voice was cold, like it got when he wanted to shut something out, but this time, the only thing he wanted to shut out was her. "Max…" She didn't want to hear that desperation in his tone. "Promise me that you won't be mad at me. Promise me that you won't hate me." He looked up at her with those big eyes, pleading with her. "I could never hate you Maxie." She smiled at him, but she didn't believe him. That's what he had said last time. They had been sitting that way, in that place, looking just like that. She sat next to him. "Where should I start?" He shrugged. "What's the last thing you remember?" He took a deep breath. "When we were first at TC and Josh raised the flag." She nodded. "I'll start from there then."


	4. AN:

Hey you guys. I'm still amazed at how patient you all are, seriously. I'm working on the update but haven't been to work in a while.

Oh, Eve, I do have news :woohoo:

That emoticon showed more enthusiasm than I've felt my whole life :laugh:

But the update will be ready soon, and will be posted.

Thank you guys for being so patient with me!

PEACE

P.


	5. Something NewSomething Old

**Author's Note: Sorry it took so long to update this story. It's actually one of my favorites, isn't that sad? But I'm excited to be back and this is the filler chapter for what's coming. It's never really this easy in real life is it? So here it is, R&R give me some feedback. Love it? Hate it? Ideas for direction? Let me know. ****J Goodnight and good luck.**

"I was holding Logan's hand when the flag went up. I took him down to the lower level and told him that it just wasn't working. That I was needed there and I needed the transgenic people to trust me and follow me. They weren't going to do that so long as he was around. He tried to blame the virus but then you came up behind me. You told him that we were designed to be with alphas and he definitely wasn't one. He was so mad." She paused and kind of laughed. "I let you do it too. Partly because I knew that if I didn't, there would be a riot. And mole would have been the leader." Alec laughed at that and let her continue.

"We worked so hard, building homes for everyone, making sure everything was as comfortable as possible. We even took up living together after a while. That way when we went out on missions together we didn't mess anyone else up." She stopped there and kind of shrugged. "For two years everything was great. And one night you told me you loved me. You said that moment was more frightening than standing up against White and all his Ordinaries alone. But in the end, everything worked out fine. We were even engaged. Until we went out on a mission one night and I told you some news that I had." She paused as her eyes teared up. "I was pregnant and you were furious. You tried to get me back to the van in time and abort the mission but…" She shook her head. "White's flunkies ambushed us seconds away from the van. You took a hit the wrong way. I got us out of there eventually and dragged you back to TC. I lost the baby and you didn't wake up for three months."

Another, longer pause here and he didn't rush her. "When you did finally wake up, I was rushed back into the hospital. I went to you but you attacked me. You didn't remember anything. You broke free and took off. It took six of us to get you sedated. Every time you woke up was like that. Except once. Five months after you woke up the first time, you woke up and remembered everything. But the pattern started again about a week later. I finally moved you into our house where I could keep an eye on you since I was home more than I was at TC. We've gone through this process so many times." She shook her head, her emotional side getting the better of her.

"We had the best doctors working on it but nothing helped. There was no sign of what was causing it. They said there was no hope. But I didn't believe them. Because every once in a while, you'll have a good day and you'll remember our life together. But more often than not you just assume you're back at Manticore and freak. But I didn't let any of that discourage me. I couldn't. There was just too much love between us. Just like there is now." He nodded. "Can you feel it Alec?" A strange look came over his face and he smiled softly at her. "I've always felt it, Maxie." And tears filled her eyes again as she leaned over and kissed him. "Can we go home now?" She nodded to his question and he threw his arm around her.


	6. 6

Want to know what I've been up to lately? Trying my hand at something of my own. Want to check it out? Check out my profile on the sister site fiction

Here's the link to the new story: .com/s/2815187/1

Check out Webook, a new way to read and rate original ideas and keep a look out for mine! J

Keep R&Ring and more updates will be up soon!

Thanks!

~P.


	7. Questions and Answers

**Author's Note: Ah, the elusive update you've all been waiting for. Let's hope it meets expectations! :) This is one of my favorite Dark Angel pieces and O'm anxious to see where the story line goes from here, remember half the time I'm as lost as you are :)**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Dark Angel or any of its characters, blah, blah, blah...**

**Moving on.,..**

_"Can you feel it Alec?" A strange look came over his face and he smiled softly at her. "I've always felt it, Maxie." And tears filled her eyes again as she leaned over and kissed him. "Can we go home now?" She nodded to his question and he threw his arm around her._

"So, I can answer any more questions, but can we do it after dinner do you think? Chasing you all over the place has made me famished." He laughed at her and nodded. He was simply amazed by her.

He watched her while she cooked, helped her set the table, while she grabbed a celebratory wine to crack open. He watched her eyes sparkle, watched the happiness radiating off her. "You aren't telling me everything are you?" The happiness was replaced with Mission Max and he instantly regretted it.

"We were married. The day before the third anniversary of the flag raising at TC. Zack gave me away. OC bawled like a baby. You made me wear white." She chuckled quietly, lost in her own reminiscing.

He wanted to find words to tell her that he wanted to be there in that world with her, that there was nothing more that he could imagine wanting than to know their life together, to be able to give it all back to her, that he was just as frustrated with the situation as she was. But like Max, she took the edge off. She threw food at him.

"What the hell?" There was pasta on his face and shirt but when he tried to clean himself up he was met only by her laughter and more pasta to his face and this time it went into his hair. "Okay, that's it." And they commenced in what he thought was the first of many nights like this.

They blurred through the house, chasing and running, in a game of cat and mouse, even taking it outside into the dark. He was faster but she knew the terrain, this was her home. The thought that he felt lost her almost broke her heart. She quit running and he slammed right into her, knockig her over. His exclimations of pain and concern fell on deaf ears. She couldn't keep doing this to herself. For the first time, she wanted him gone. She wanted to be away from all of this. She didn't want to be strong anymore. And those thoughts made her break down wraped in the safety of his arms in the middle of the forest.

**A/N: Sorry it's so short. I want to put a lot of work into the next chapter and with a six week maternity leave, hopefully I'll have some time to do just that :) **

**If you read any of my other stories, I'm working on updates for them too and thinking of maybe starting a new one or two in a different genre. Now wouldn't that be fun :D**

**R&R you know the love is appreciated! **


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